Mounting for folding doors



Sept. 22, 1931.

E. 4. 5. PHILLIPS MOUNTING'FOR FOLDING DOORS Filed Mai-ch 9. 1929 9 5 a; .nw lnnwn O0 0 HHHH HH f .0 WV 6 4." n J z m fir x5 1 7 E FL m\ PL l 3 f 2m F 1 7 w A i/ A l f a 7 z 9 1L1 w wl w ummm Z7111? JG.

The object of my'in'vention is 35 an improved mounting for folding door Patented Sept. 22, 1931 oNrrsD. s TArEs PATENT OFF CE ELLISJ. G. PHI LIPS, or AURORA, ILLINOIs, ASSIGNOR TO RIoIIARns-wILoox MA U- FACTUBINGCOMPANY, on AUR RA, ILLINOIS, A CORPQRATIONOF ILLINOIS f a, MOUNTING son FOLDING DOORS ":A PpIiCation fiIed March 9, 1929. Serial N0. 345,652.

This invention relates to folding doors of the typecomprising a plurality of leaves hinged together with the innermost leaf or I leaves mounted to swing about pivots located adjacent to its inner'margimfso'thatwhen folded the-several leaves are side by 'side and substantially at right angles to the posi tion they assume when unfolded orclosed. Folding doors of this type maybemade up of two ormore leaves'at onesi'de only Ofja' door opening, or where the door opening is quite wide, it isco'mmon'to make the door as a whole in two-units e'ach made up of a plurality'of leaves hinged togethenthe two 1 units being'mountedat Opposite sides of the door opening so that :when'the'ileaves are.

unfolded theymeet'atthe center of the opening or at someother intermediate point.

In folding doors of this'character' it is customary tosupport the outer leaf or leaves,that is to say, all the leaves except those at the endsofthedoor Opening,on the floor or other support that forms the bot- .M tomof'the door openingfandto provide'top;

guides for the leaves theform of hangers or rollers arranged-to travel longitudinally of theopening as the door is folded or un-i folded, and my inventionhas'particularly to; do with doors mounted in'that'way, and

particularly with those in which the topsupport serves merely asa guide, and does not which itis connected.

carry any part of the weight of the leafwithl leaves of the character above'indioated, by whicheach leaf may readily be adjusted vertically to-relieve against sagging, or to compensate for unevenness 1n the floor or'other surface "over which the door .swings, which would'tend to causescraping of theleaf on such surface an d interfere with its freeswing ing movement. I accomplish this object as illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter 4 8 described. What Iregard new'is set forth in'the claims. v 7 V In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1' 's a ,pl jHfVleiW showing-a .doo'r cornto provide position, and in dotted lines in their folded position. The uprights marking the ends of the door, opening are shown in section.

' Fig. 2 is an end elevation, partly broken away, of one of the leaves, "the tracks at the top and bottom" of, the door opening 'being shown in sectionpand I I Fig. 3 is a partial side elevationfof one of,

the leaves, partly broken. away, with some parts in section. t I r 5 Referring to the drawings,4c,"5 indicate upright members that mark the ends of a doorway, which, in the present instance, is shown as beingequipped with a folding door made up of two similar units each comprising an inner leaf 6 and an outer leaf 7, the inner margin of the outer leaf being hingedto the outer margin of the inner leaf by hinges 18, which maybe ordinarybutt hinges. d

The inner leaves 6 are pivotally mounted adjacent to their inner margins on top and bottom pivots 9 located'adjacent to the uprights a, 5', so that said leaves may swing freely either into position to close the door opening or into a position at approximately right angles to the doorway, as'indic'ated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the'outer leaves"? swing either into a position of alinement with the leaves6, as shown in full lines in Fig.1,

or fold up alongside the leaves 6 to comlines in said figure. I

Extending longitudinally" over; the door pletely open the doorway, as shown in dotted opening is an inverted U-shaped track 10 having the marginal portions 11 of its side mem bers 12 curved inwardly, or toward each other, as best shown in Fig. 2, the side members 12 being substantially vertical. The, function of this track is to guide the upper: portions of the outer leaves 7 'a sthey are swung into or: outof closed position, andtoi this end said leaves are provided, preferably adjacent to their outer margins, with hori-' zontal rollers 13 mounted on vertical spindles V 14 suitably secured to the upper marginal portions of said leaves. Preferably abushing 15fis mounted on'eaoh spindlel l between the roller 13 and the upper margin of the leaf,

and the marginal portions 11 of the track are spaced' apart far enough to permit the bush-' ings to move. freely between them, as shown in Fig. 2. The rollers 13 are slightly less in diameter than the space between the vertical members 12 of the track, and are adapted to bear on the inner surfaces of such vertical members, so that the track guides the upper portion of the leaf as it moves along it in opening or closing the door.

It will be observed that the guiding devices for the top of. the leaf do not sustain its weight,'but merely restrict its lateral movement, and to support such weight and provide for vertical adjustment of the leaf to' keep it in proper relation to the floor or other support so that it will not scrape thereon, I provide each leaf 7 with a bottom support in the form of a pair of rollers16 spaced apart and mounted on a horizontal pin or axle 17 that iS carried by an upright stem 18. The lower portion of this stem'extends between the two rollersl6, asshown in F 2, and its upper portion is screw threaded, as shown at 19 in Fig. 3, and passes through an opening in ahorizontal arm 20 that projects laterally from a vertical plate 21, as shown in said figure. This plate is the intermediate member of a housing that comprises also two flat plates 22, the outer marginal portions of which overlap and aresecured to the end plate 21 by screws 23, thus forming a .Ushaped housing that is adapted to be fitted upon oneofthe lower corners of the door leaf after the same has been cut away to provide a pocket 24; to receive the arm 20 and stem19, together with'a pp en o th rollers 15, s b s wn nF 3, The plate 21 is inset in this pocket far enough so that its outer surface lies flush with the vertical marginal surface of the leaf, and it is screwed tothe leaf by screws25. The side plates 22 overlap the sides of the pocket, and they are secured to the leaf by screws 26, so that they enclose the pocket 24 and the parts located therein. 7 e

As has been said, the V stem 19 extends through an opening in the arm 20', and it is swiveled therein so that it may rotate freely, but it may nevertheless be vertically adjustedwith respect tothe arm 20 to vary the ex-.

tent to which the rollers 16 project below the lower margin of the leaf, or in other words, to vertically adjust the leaf withrespect to the floor or other support. For this purpose the-stem i p d w a bu neZY has a bearingin the opening in the arm 20 and is somewhat longer than the thickness of said arm, to provide clearance. Said bushing maybe threaded on the stem 19 or may be loosely'mounted thereon, but in either case it is clamped to said stem by meansof upper and lower nuts 28, 29..screwed on the stein respectively above and below the arm 2 20 and bushing 27. Preferably washers 3.0,

31 are interposed between the nuts 28, 29 and the adjacent ends of the bushing 27, asshown in 3. this construction, by adjustthe leaf.

ing either or both of the nuts 28, 29 to reduce the space between them, the bushing 27 may be tightly clamped to the stem 19 so that it will rotate therewith, and as the bushing has an elongated bearing in the arm 20 it holds the stem 19 upright and causes it to turn smoothlyand without lateral oscillation. By adjusting the nuts 28, 29 the stem may be inoved vertically through the arm 20 to adjust the position .of the rollers '16.witli respect'to the bottom. of the leaf.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the rollers 16 areadapted to run on a horizontal track 31 sunk in the floorand provided with a longitudinal groove 32 into which the lower end 33 of the stern19 extends. This lower extremity of the stem is preferably elongated, so that it cooperates with the groove 32 to hold the stem 19 against rotation with respect'to the track 31 and consequently holds the rollers 16 in track.

Owing to the swivel mounting of the stem, however, the door leaf. may swing freely abouta vertical axis represented by the stem proper "alinement with said 19 and the spindle 14 at the top of the door,

whicliare in alinementfwith each other.

It ill be understood that in folding oors having theirv leaves mounted to turn about vertical axes located midway between the vertical margins of the leaves, the position of the supporting devices above described would be correspondingly changed, insteado o n leaves as shown and described.

I claim:

1. In a folding door comprising a leaf them at the outer corners of the stem having a rotatable bearing said opening, washers engaging the upper. and lower ends of said bushing and extending over said supporting portion at opposite ends of said opening, said bushing being slightly longer than said Qhening to permit rotative movement of said washers relative to said supporting portion, nuts screwing over said threaded stem "and engaging said washers, and a rollercarri-ed by s'zndstem adapted to travel on a suitable horizontal surface below 2. In a ,foldingdoor comprising a leaf.

mounted to turn about a vertical axis with respect to a dooropening, and; to move longitudinallyof-such opening, the combination with the doOr leaf, a guide for then per po'rtionthereof comprising an inverte 'U- shaped track having vertical side portions, provided with inturned lower margins, and a roller carried by the door at its upper margin and adapted to bear on the vertical side portions of said track, of a swivel mounting for the lower portion of the leaf, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the leaf and having a horizontal arm, a screw-threaded stem extending through an opening in said arm, a bushing on said stemhaving a bearing in said opening, washers engaging the opposite ends of said bushing and extending over said arm above and below said opening, said bushing being slightlylonger than said opening to permit said washer to rotate relatively to said arm, nuts screwing on said stem and adapted to engagesaid washers, and a roller carried by said stem and adapted to project beyond the lower margin of the leaf to travel on a suitable horizontal surface.

3. In a folding door comprising a leaf mounted to turn about a vertical axis with respect to a door opening and to move longitudinally of such opening, the combination with the door leaf, and a guide for the upper portion thereof, of a swivel mounting for the lower portion of the leaf, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the leaf and having a supporting portion, a screw threaded stem extending through an opening in said supporting portionand rotatablly mounted therein, nuts screwing over said stem and below said opening for permitting said stem to be adjusted vertically relatively to said supporting portion, and a roller carried by said stem adapted to travel on a suitable horizontal surface below the leaf.

4. In a folding door comprising a leaf 7 mounted to turn about a vertical axis with respect to a door opening and to move longitudinally of such opening, the combination with the door leaf, and a guide for the upper Dortion thereof, of a swivel mounting for the lower portion of the leaf, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the leaf and having a supporting portion, a stem extending through an opening in said supporting portion and rotatable therein, a bushing on said stem engaging within said opening, screw threaded means permitting vertical adjustments of said stem relatively to said supporting portion, and a roller'carried by said stem adapted to travel on a suitable ing an arm extending horizontally therefrom in the longitudinal plane of the door leaf, plates secured on opposite sides of said leaves and secured to said first named memher for rigidly maintaining the latter against lateral thrusts, a threaded stem extending through a vertical opening insaid arm, an

elongated cylindrical bushing adjustably secured on said stem for turning with the stem in said arm, said bushing being longer than the opening in said arm so that it extends slightly therefrom, threaded members disposed on said stem against the top and bottom surfaces of said bushing for compelling the bushing to rotate with said stem, and a roller carried by said stem and adapted to project beyond the lower margin of the leaf.

6. A swivel mounting for folding doors comprising a series of door leaves, a member secured to the lower transverse edge of one leaf and having an arm extending horizontally therefrom in the longitudinal plane of the door leaf, side plates secured on opposite sides of said leaf and secured to said first named member for rigidly maintaining the latter against lateral thrusts, a threaded stem mounted in said arm for supporting the door leaves, an elongated cylindrical bushing mounted on said stem and held between upper and lower threaded members to compel said bushing to turn with said threaded stem in said arm, said door leaf beingrotatably supported on said lower threaded member, and a roller carried by said stem and adapted to project beyond the lower mar CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,824,621. Granted September 22, 1931, to

ELLIS J. G. PHILLIPS.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 34, claim 3, after the word "stem" insert the word above; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of November, A. D. 1931.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

